Another Member
by Artsy Freak
Summary: What if there was another bird kid in the world, who escaped from the School before the others? The flock meets her, and she is soon straining the bonds holding them together. This is the ultimate test of their loyalty. Can they survive it?
1. Prologue

**This is my first story for this site, so please be nice! But I do want constructive criticism, so please review.**

**Prologue**

I always knew that I wasn't normal. Not like the people who would walk by me, barely glancing, or not glancing at all. I always knew that they weren't blessed, or cursed, with my… abilities. When I would sit in the alleys of NYC, people bustling by, no one would ever slow down and say anything kind to the little, dirty girl, with tear tracks running down her grimy face. Even when she grew older, and the tear tracks would slowly vanish, slowly, no one had the time to say comforting words or even throw a sympathetic glance once in a while. Soon, she, (I,) would remember everyone walking by, taking the same path to work every day, wearing the same bored faces, or sometimes the faces of the late, rushing to catch the bus.

Some days, when I would grow so bored with the constant people, the constant rush, the constant lack of caring for the less-fortunate, I would find myself on the roof of one of the buildings concealing my alley. I would watch the peoples' expressions to see if they noticed the creepy, dark girl had vanished. No one had. But I could deal. Who needed strangers caring, right? But, still, it would've helped.

So, I would stay on the building until it would grow dark, and the people on the streets would slowly trickle away, to their warmed houses, with the company of others that I would never be able to enjoy. Instead, all I could do was unfurl my blessing/curse, and sprint across the roof, feeling the cold, the bite, the sting, and try to forget everything that had happened, the causes of my screwed-up life. All I could do now was jump, fly away from everything that haunted me, all my curses, my problems, my issues. And I did. At least for tonight.


	2. First Glance

**I completely messed up the chapters and their orders, so I'm sooo sorry. I had to remove them and put them back. I hope you still enjoy! **

**Chapter One**

"Maaaax…." Nudge groaned, yet again, behind me. "I'm gonna starve!"

"Would someone please shut her up?!" I yelled behind me, in a desperate attempt to subdue her. I knew it wouldn't work.

"I'm hungry, too." Total mumbled, barely audible over the wind in my ears. I glanced back and saw him struggle in Angel's arms. She gave a strained face, and held tighter.

"Yeah, well, deal." I said, letting him know I heard. "Iggy, will you grab the dog, please?" Angel looked at me with a determined face, so I quickly added, "Sweetie, he's way too big. You'll get him back, soon. I promise." I just didn't clarify how long "soon" was. I silently patted myself on the back when her expression softened, but then when her face twisted with anger, I cursed myself about how stupid I was. I had forgot she read minds.

"Angel?" Iggy was ready for the mid-air trade-off. I was relieved when she handed Total over, after thinking silently for a few seconds. After, she still glared at me, so I looked away.

Fang's eyes and mine met, and I saw he understood everything that had just occurred and was laughing at me in his head. He wouldn't dare laugh out loud, partly because I would go kick his butt, and partly because it wasn't his thing. So I just focused my vision on the course ahead, preoccupied with my thoughts.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts, in fact, that I didn't notice the dark shape hurtling towards us. It was 8 or 9 o'clock at night, in the late fall, near the great New York City, so it was pretty dang dark. I didn't notice it until it was around 100 feet away, and when I did see it, I had barely enough time to warn the flock, before it seemed to swerve away to avoid us.

"Flyboy?" I guessed, which led to an immediate pursue of the "thing".

Fang took the lead right away, but even he wasn't fast enough to catch it. So I had to belt on the speed, whooshing past all the others to catch the mysterious object. I could see its desperate attempts to gain speed when it saw me coming, but to no avail. So I left it no choice. When I was 50 feet away, it spun around, as I'm guessing, to attack, and I was so shocked that I tried to stop the speed I had going for me. Unfortunately, the laws of inertia don't work like that, so I collided full tilt into the shockingly similar figure, with a painful 'thud'.

I hardly noticed the pain over the panic of falling, because I had learned many times before that if you collided with something, (or someone,) in mid-air, it would get messy. Especially if that other figure had _wings._


	3. Realization

Chapter 2

**This one is a bit longer, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Enjoy! (P.S. It's still Max's POV.)**

**Chapter 2**

"Max!" I could barely hear the flock screaming my name, but that was enough. Even with our wings all tangled together, I managed to place my knees in the right place, and with a huge "grunt" kneed her right in the stomach. Her breath left her with a painful gasp, and I was free. My wings were above my head, waving uselessly, so I had to use all my efforts to snap them back open again, fighting against the rush of wind. I was still falling downward, so I pushed down with some heavy strokes that were surprisingly painful, but still not as surprising as it was when I felt strong arms grip around my waist and helped to support me. I glanced back, around my shoulder. Fang. Of course.

Instead of looking in his scrutinizing and worried gaze, I franticly glanced around, searching for the source of this problem. Then, I saw her. She was already flying away, not fazed at all. "Iggy! Nudge! Go!" I pointed to her, and with a nod, they zoomed after her.

I tried wiggling my way out of Fang's arms, but he wouldn't budge. "Don't you think you should sit this one out?" He questioned.

"NO! Let me go or I'll hurt you!" I struggled harder. He released, so I sped as fast as my tired wings would go towards the chase. To my dismay, she was ahead, yet again. But not for long, I thought silently, and belted on the speed.

It took me a little longer to catch up to her, and I had my brakes on ready, and she was similarly prepared. She whirled around, and catching me by surprise, hissed. I had never heard a human hiss so fiercely, and I was so taken aback, that she had the advantage of first strike. She hit me with what felt like a ton of bricks, right in my gut, and then withdrew before I could blink. I kneeled over in mid-air, and then I felt a searing pain on my back, like it was being roughly ripped to pieces. Red pain blurred my eyesight, and I could feel my warm blood trickle down my side. But I was tougher than that, and I straightened my back to face my opponent, against the pain, which worsened at the movement.

I couldn't see her very well in the dark, even with my raptor vision, and I was exactly focusing in on her, blinded by pain. But I could see her smile. Smile at the thought of how much pain I was in, how hard I was trying to keep flying, and how little more of a beating I would take before I would fall. I hated her already. Before I could take a meager attempt at injuring her, Nudge had tackled her in the air, to both our surprises, followed by Iggy, trying to pry the Demon Flier out of Nudge's arms before she did hurt Nudge. When Iggy managed to get a firm grip on her, and Nudge was dodging her flailing arms, Fang seemed to materialize out of thin air, as if he was there the whole time, and just waiting for the right time to appear.

I quickly scanned the area, and saw that Gazzy and Angel were zooming over as fast as their wings could carry them, which was not good. "Nudge!" I yelled over the frantic hissing and spitting of our captive. Her head snapped up at my call, and I knew how she wanted to stay and fight. But, I couldn't let her. "Go with Gazzy and Angel! Keep them away!" She franticly shook her head, pleading with her eyes. "Just do it! Land under us! We'll be down soon!" She hesitated, and I was getting ready to yell again, when she bowed her head and weakly flew away.

I would have to apologize later, I thought, as I faced the fugitive. She had stopped wiggling, and was glaring at me with hatred; I could feel the heat of her gaze piercing me through the night. Suddenly, she burst, flailing so hard, I thought she would've definitely hurt Iggy if he hadn't let his grip slip, releasing her. She lunged at me, and I sense that there was more than bird DNA in her body. Her hands were outstretched towards my throat, and I could see in the faint moonlight, claws extending from her fingers.

I felt panic flash up my throat with every millisecond as she drew nearer. Luckily, Fang was faster, and tackled her when she was an inch away from touching me. I was frozen, breathing raggedly, trying to calm my racing heart before it burst out of my chest, (which would've been gross and highly embarrassing). When I had calmed myself down enough to move, I glanced over and saw the girl had gone limp in Fang's arms, obviously giving up. When I drew nearer, I could hear her breathing was fast and harsh, as if her throat was closing up, like in asthma attacks. She didn't look at me or anyone, just towards the ground.

"We are going to let you go now." I whispered, soothingly. "We want you to land with us so we can talk. If you try to escape, we will catch you."

I look up to see Iggy shaking his head. He murmured to the captive "We just want to talk. We aren't from the lab. We escaped, too."

At this, she looked up. I still couldn't see much, only a silhouette, but I could tell she was staring at Iggy. Fang slowly let go, and she extended her wings and beat them to stay afloat. She started to descend, with Fang close behind, making sure she wouldn't try to get away.

I turned to Iggy. "How would you know she was from the School?"

His blank eyes were fixed straight ahead. "Because, only the School would create monsters like us. Like her." He started to descend.

He was right. I didn't know how he knew she was a girl, or how he knew she was a "monster", but that was just Iggy.

I started my descend, my head reeling with thoughts and questions I couldn't answer quite yet. In fact, I didn't know if I ever could.


	4. The Fury

Chapter 3

**Mystery Girl's POV. Sorry I can't tell you who her name is quite yet! But don't worry, you'll find out soon. (P.S. PLEASE REVIEW!! I want to improve for you guys, so please let me!) **

**Chapter 3**

_Where did these creatures come from? _I wasthinking as I descended towards the ground, _and why am I listening to them?_ They said that they were from the Lab, but I've learned long ago to not trust anyone. They could be working for the Lab, and trying to get me back, but I've managed to avoid all their other creations, like Erasers, and those flying Erasers that I called Fliers. But they had left me alone for some time now, and I was enjoying it. For around 2 years, now. Maybe they were just creating these… monsters? _But then again, _I thought, _I shouldn't be talking._

I glanced back, and saw the other one, a male obviously, flying with me towards the ground. He felt me looking, and glanced back, with an odd grin on his face, as if he was scrutinizing me, but being nice about it. My heart sped up, and this, I realized, was the first time I had ever _liked _another being. But I shook my head, thinking that was ridiculous, because, no matter how good he looked, with his piercing gaze, the dark hair that had fallen over his eyes, his lean body, and the dark, majestic wings he had on his back, he was still trying to bring me back to that accursed place. But, hey, a girl can dream, right?

I looked past him, up farther, where the leader girl and blind boy were starting their landing. I didn't wonder why she put so much faith in him, because I had been blind once, too. All your other senses heighten, and it's almost better than being able to see. Almost.

We finally landed, a little too hard for my taste, because I was so distracted, but I was still lucky to have landed alive, and in one piece. The boy next to me landed a little harder than I did, and I wondered how long these mutants had been flying. I had been flying ever since I escaped that wretched place, 5 or 6 years now. I escaped when I was 10, and have been on the lamb ever since. You should never create a human/feline/human hybrid. Ever. They will get out of your grasp, eventually.

"I imagine the kids went that-a-way." My companion nodded towards the McDonalds across the street. "Oh," he continued, "By the way, my name's Fang."

I cocked my head at him. "Morta." I mumbled barley audible. He nodded again, and took a few steps towards the fast-food restaurant. "Wait," I said, unable to refrain myself from asking. "Why are you being so nice to me, if you're just going to take me back to the Lab? And why aren't you tying me up?"

He was so taken aback by either my question, or my sudden speaking ability. When he regained his words he explained, "We aren't going to take you back anywhere! We came from there, too, and we're avoiding just as much as you are. We just want to see who you are and where you came from."

I never expected such a long statement from him. He looked like the kind of guy who didn't talk much, and mostly kept to himself. "Oh," I murmured, and glanced up in the sky to see the others were almost here. "Let's go." I said, and hurriedly jogged towards the McDonalds. He followed; I imagined keeping a close eye on me.

We walked in, and the bright light immediately blinded me. I preferred to keep to the shadows, because most cats would hunt then. I could stand light, but not this kind of quick transfer. Luckily, I quickly recovered to see the "kids" waiting for us at a table in the back. I could see them looking at Fang behind me, and I knew he was doing some form of hand signals, probably to keep them at bay. For that, I was thankful.

One of the kids, a coffee colored skin, which glowed under the fluorescent lights, was beaming up at me, obviously trying to be nice. She looked to be around 12 or 13. The other girl, who was much younger, would be adorable to someone who cared about that stuff. Her originally bouncy blonde curls were deflated and dirty. I glanced around and noticed they all needed a bath. She was tightly holding a dirty white angel bear, and on her lap was a little Scottie dog. She was smiling politely, but was much too guarded for such a young age. The last one, sitting next to the little girl, seemed to be her brother. He had tousled blonde hair, and he looked to be 2 or 3 years older than his look-alike. He looked like an all-around happy guy, mischievous, of course, but he didn't even bother to smile. He just stared at me. But, then again, neither did I.

Suddenly, all of their eyes snapped behind my back, towards the door. The lead girl was rushing in, probably checking to make sure I hadn't injured anyone. I was flattered. "Everyone ok?" she looked over everyone in the group, and I noticed that she wasn't to comfortable looking to see Fang over. In fact, she barely looked at him.

"Yeah!" The blonde girl jumped up excitedly, rushing over and giving the leader a big hug around the knees. Then she turned to me, and screwed up her face, looking at my eyes. After a moment, she inhaled loudly, looking very frustrated. She tugged the leader's shirt, whining "Max…"

Max leaned down, and she whispered something in her ear. She shot back up, to full height and glared at me. "Outside." She ordered, and the others got up and followed without question. Now would've been the perfect time to split, but I was intrigued by their group, and what Max had just discovered about me. After all, I _was_ full of secrets.

But I was also happy to get outside into the dark night. The cold air gripped my body, making my slightly shiver with pleasure. The others must have seen it, and glanced over. _So they did have enhanced vision_, I thought, _or they wouldn't have noticed my shiver._

"Are you cold?" The coffee colored one asked, curious. "'Cuz we aren't. We are programmed to withstand cold temperatures, and hot, and-" she was cut off with the blind one slapping his hand over her mouth. I held in a giggle.

My attention was drawn back to Max, when I saw her whirl around. By the time I realized what she was doing, it was too late. She had swung her fist around, aiming for my wrist, but instead hit my arm. Pain rocketed through it, up to my shoulder, but it was better than a broken nose. When I realized it was too late to dodge, my lightning reflexes decided that my arm could save my face. So it did.

Max looked completely stunned, and by the looks on their faces, the others did too. I didn't know whether it was from my block, or her sudden attack. Red hot anger coursed through my veins, blocking out everything else. They were trying to take me back. No. No. No. They CAN'T do that!

I lunged at her, claws extended, teeth flashing. I may fly like a bird, but I fought like a cat. I heard a scream, somewhere distant behind me, and I'm guessing it was one of the younger chicks. But I didn't focus on it. My attention was full on Max, who was attempting to defend herself, but was failing under my super-fast claws and flashing teeth. When I was in a Fury, there was no stopping me anytime soon. Unfortunately, I can't control myself fully when I'm in a Fury, so whoever stands in the was in trouble, and I can be easily taken advantage of because I'm only focusing on who sent me into this rage.

I can barely remember screaming much, but I know I was screaming, "You can't take me back! I won't go! I WON'T!" I do remember the tackle, and me flying backwards, landing painfully on my wings, which had come unfurled a little in the air. But I just leapt up, snarling my disgust at my attacker. The blind boy. Luckily, the Fury was fading fast, leaving my limbs in a state of exhaustion as it crept away. The powerful venom would flame through my body, feeding and living off of all my stored nutrients, so when it crawled away, my body couldn't handle it. The scientists at the Lab had described it all in confusing words, so my quick brain would disfigure the statement and put it in words I'd be able to understand. And I could feel the full extent of my lesson fight now.

This wasn't the first time I'd experienced the Fury. I had many other times before. Whenever my prey would escape my grasp, it would rage through my body. The good thing was I always would end up catching the prey. The bad thing was it would never be edible. I would've torn it to shreds, getting every piece filthy. So I knew what was to happen to my exhausted body as the last of the venomous Fury crept back into my heart. A wave of blackness clouded my vision, dizzying me, and causing me to stumble slightly. No matter how many times I tried, I could never beat the consequence of my ability, but I still tried. Unfortunately, tonight was no different. I slipped my grip with consciousness, then felt my body impact the hard earth, but felt no pain. As soon as I hit the ground, the rest of my hold released, and I fell. Fell into the blackness that is sleep. Fell into the comfort that is unfeeling.

_**Fell into nothing.**_


	5. Fang and Morta

**Hey guys. I appreciate the reviews that a few of you have given. I'm currently going through a little writing block, so it may take a little while for chapter 5 to come out. This chapter is really long, just a little warning. Thanks for the support, to you cool people who reviewed! And thanks to my sister Andrea, for being my editor. :D Enjoy!!**

**P.S. I don't own MR, or any of the characters, besides Morta, no matter how many times I send a letter to Santa… ;)**

**P.P.S. It's Fang's POV, and this was hard, so please be nice!!**

**Chapter 4**

**Fang's POV**

The dark, leafy canopy above our heads was a good shelter from the rain that was falling from the New York skies. I glanced around our makeshift campsite, making sure everyone was still asleep, even with the slight pattering of raindrops against the trees. Max was still awake, but trying to sleep. She would've fooled anyone, but not me. Her face was too tight, her jaw not quite relaxed.

I turned back to the dark forest, and scanned the area, remembering the previous events that occurred today. Remembering how Morta had viciously attacked Max, and how it seemed she wasn't in control of herself, and how Iggy had tackled her, which seemed to snap it out of her before she fainted, falling forward. I glanced over my shoulder, to see her lying on the forest floor, chest slowly rising and falling, and I could almost hear the same ragged breathing that I had heard earlier.

I leapt off the branch I was perched on as silently as I could to walk over and examine her. I had only gotten a few glances, and because it was still dark out when I carried her into the forest, I didn't really get a good look. When I knelt down, I noticed she had a few strands of hair, which had fallen in front of her face. I gently brushed them away, so gently that she wouldn't feel it even if she was awake, and noticed that her hair was soft and clean. We hardly got a bath once every few months, and I highly doubted that she was lucky enough to get one. But, maybe she had just washed recently?

I shook my head, scolding myself for being so stupid. We were designed to notice everything around us, and it usually kept us safe. But more times it would just get annoying.

She stirred slightly, and I froze right away. Luckily, she just sighed and went back to sleeping, very still like. I stayed a few more seconds, staring at her, and it dawned upon me, that she was _pretty._ The only other girl I had thought was pretty was Max, but she wouldn't have me. There was also that girl from that school in Virginia, but I didn't actually think she was attractive. In fact, I didn't remember why we kissed, or why I let her.

That was when my over-observation abilities were a good thing. She was a little too still, and her breathing was too quick, not the breathing of someone who was sleeping. I stood, and silently crept away, towards the tree where I kept my look-out. I hoped she hadn't heard me, and prayed that she was asleep again. Lord knows what she would think if she found out I was watching her as she slept.

I unfurled my wings fully, and almost silently leapt up onto the wide branch to continue my watch. After 6 minutes of this, when I was sure she was asleep again, I went back to staring into the darkness of the forest. Then, a presence next to me almost made me fall off my perch, but she caught me. Luckily, I don't scream when I'm surprised, so no one else woke up.

She up righted me, and I hated myself for enjoying her hand on my back. I had to keep thinking _Max! Max!_ This actually helped a lot. I could picture her, flying in the twilight, wind blowing her blonde hair behind her, her face in a wonderful smile that could light up the darkest spaces, directed at me, and only me. My imaginary illusion burst when I saw that Morta was smiling at me, and was almost as pretty, if not as pretty, as Max's.

"Hi." She whispered, seeming genuinely happy.

"Hi?" I didn't understand her joy, when she was on a murderous rampage earlier. "Why are you so…happy?" I questioned her.

"Well…" She slightly bit her lip. I took note of that. "I was told at the Lab that it wouldn't be long until I died during a Fury, so I guess I'm just happy to be alive!"

"A…fury?"

"Oh, right, I should apologize, shouldn't I? It's when my body is taken over by uncontrollable anger, as if I was a tiger or hawk that was in a cage, and released to do whatever on my captors. It was supposed to be controllable by me, but as you know, the Lab is prone to accidents. Their accident turned out to be their downfall." She looked down, as if she felt guilty.

"Why do you trust us now?" I was wondering.

She laughed, and it was like chiming bells. "Because, I know I would be back at the Lab by now. I know it takes me a while to wake up from my rampage, and I recognized that we had barely moved from where we fought. Also, I know that I could easily take you out without even waking up the others." She finished smugly.

She was right about one thing. She had been sleeping for 2 days now. But she was wrong about others. "Take me out, huh? As in kill me, or would you be nice and just knock me out?" I teased.

She laughed again. "Well, because you're nice, I'd let you live. Or," she thought for a moment, "I'd convince you to come with me. I'm very convincing."

For a second I actually thought she was serious. Then, to my relief, she laughed again. There was a moment of silence, and deciding that I wanted to continue our conversation, I asked, "Morta. That's a different name. Why did you name yourself that?"

She looked over at me, her gaze piercing, and her short, dark brown hair brushed behind her ears, except for the part that hung in front of one of her eyes, and spoke, seriously, "When I was at the Lab, the scientists were always saying how _Amazing _I was, and how I was the _perfect specimen,_ and there was one scientist who would always say that I was _mortal._ For that, I was grateful." I looked at her quizzically, and she continued, explaining, "I never wanted to be different from the rest of the population. I always wanted to be human. This one scientist taught me my similarities, while the others focused only on my difference. On my _advantages _they put it. So while I may be part bird and part feline, I'm mostly human, and I thank him for pointing that out. In order to remind myself everyday that humans and I aren't so different, I call myself Morta. Like mortal. When I'm cut, I bleed. When I'm hurt, I can cry. When a freaking knife goes through my heart, I die. My name will always remind me of that."

When she finished, she was looking down, at the leafy floor, and I was looking at her face. I now believed her when she said she was very convincing. There was something in her voice, that made you feel what she was feeling, and that could be called a weapon of sorts. I tried to think of ways to change the subject, but could only come up with, "You're part feline?"

She perked her head up, a slight smile on her face at the idea of going back to our previous, not so emotional, conversation. "Yeah. I'm the first tri-hybrid to survive without any damaging side-effects. Besides the Fury, of course. My feline side is my instincts, enhanced senses, and retractable claws and teeth."

"Wait," I started, confused. "Your teeth are _retractable?_"

She giggled. "Yeah." And with that, she opened her mouth, showing her teeth in the dim moonlight. I leaned forward, and saw that her teeth were actually elongating and sharpening. I was also surprised that her breath didn't smell like a bloodthirsty cat, but like something sweet. I thought, and figured it mostly smelled like fresh bread and peppermint, which was actually a good combo.

She closed her mouth, and giggled. "Don't you ever cut your lips with them?" I asked, cautiously.

"No! I grew up with them. That's like saying, haven't you ever knocked your wings while walking out a door or something."

I smiled, which is something I do rarely. "Well, our wings can be tucked in."

"Yeah," She continued, "And my teeth can be returned to normal size. I don't cut my lip; I can eat normally, talk normally, and kiss normally."

I was taken aback by that one, but continued on, without seeming to be surprised at all. I was able to tuck away all emotions into my head, because I learned long ago that emotions weren't necessary in life. Maybe that was my ability. I hoped not.

She looked over at me, probably expecting a reaction on my face, but she wouldn't get one. "Wow. I never thought about it that way." I admitted.

"Not many people have."

Silence stretched out between us, and I broke the silence again. I was surprising myself by how much I wanted to keep talking to this girl. Talking to anyone was a stretch for me. "Have you told anyone else about your…special abilities?"

"Yeah, I have." She was completely serious. "Have you?"

I shook my head, my longish hair whipping around my face. "Naw. Max has, though. We don't blame her. She was injured, and needed help. People do know about us, though. We learned that when I had to go to the hospital." I could tell she was going to ask more, so I cut her off. "Long story. I'll tell you about it later."

"Oh.' She seemed a little disappointed, but perked up after a minute. "I told one guy, and after I did, he told me that he was special, too. Funny, huh?" She laughed.

"What was his name?" I asked, hoping we could meet him someday. Any good mutants were friends in Max's book, after we got to know them, of course.

She sighed. "Jared. He's dead. The Lab got him back. He…" she shuddered a sigh. "He was the guy who taught me that I can kiss without cutting my lip."

I understood right away. Her face was so pitiful and crest-fallen that it struck even _my_ heartstrings. "Ya know, Max found her father at the school after 2 years." I didn't mention he was there on his own accord, and that we still hate him to this day, but it was worth it to see her face lift, even the slightest bit.

"Maybe...maybe I'll go to the Lab, see if he's there. I won't make it out, of course, but it would be nice to see if he's alive."

I was about to make an offer to help her out, flock included, (I don't know why I was being such a nice guy to this girl, but I was,) when she held up her finger to silence me. "Someone…" she closed her eyes for a moment, and snapped them back open again. "Her name is Max right?" I nodded, confused. "Yeah, well she's waking up in about, oh, 4 minutes 32 seconds because of a bad dream. I'm going to bed. Oh," She turned and looked at me again. "Don't expect me to be in a good mood all the time. It's only when I just wake up from the Fury, and there's not a crowd. I'll still be nice to you, but don't expect me to be too trusting of your friends right away."

I was gaping now, completely bewildered about the whole Max waking up in 4 minutes thing. She giggled, and with that, leaned over and quickly pecked me on the cheek, whispering, "Good night, Fang. I'll explain everything to you tomorrow." And with that, she leapt off the branch, completely silent.

I was frozen, recounting in my head everything that had just happened. I was snapped out of it by Max, who was mumbling and moaning as she slept, tossing and turning. I would make sure that Morta wasn't right. Instead of letting Max wake up on her own, I went over and affectionately kicked her, right in the ribs. Her eyes snapped open immediately, and I told her it was her watch.

She blinked sleepily at me, and as always, it struck me deep. Every time she looked at me, the same thing happened. I just ignored it and walked away. I was too frustrated to care what her dumb dream was. She didn't care about me. Well, it was my turn to return the favor. I curled up in my sleeping spot, next to Nudge, who curled into me, glad to have someone to warm her up on a cold night. I rubbed her arm, which was frigid, and she mumbled "Mmmm…good night, Fang." I glanced up to see Morta staring at me, a smirk on her pretty face. Then, exhaustion clouded my brain and I drifted off to sleep.


	6. AN

**A/N: ****Hey people who read my story…**

**I just wanted to say sorry for not uploading in a really long time, and yes, I do have an excuse.**

**My Grammy was diagnosed with cancer a while back, and is not going to make it. She is now in the hospital, and the doctors are just going to pull the plug, I guess.**

**I'm really depressed, so I won't be writing for a few days. Maybe longer.**

**I really am sorry, but I'm also really sad.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story, I really appreciate the support for my story. I obviously don't have a high self esteem when it comes to writing.**

**Take care,**

**Artsy Freak**


	7. Meeting in the Store

**A/N: Sorry about the super long wait. I've been having a whole bunch of school problems, and I officially hate high school. I can't wait for college. If I go to college. But there is also this other school I want to go to, called Academy of the Arts, and it specializes in art stuff, (obviously!) But I want to go for drawing (which is my passion,) and creative writing (which is my second passion.)  
This chapter is longer, and it's in Morta's POV. So, I hope you enjoy. I also hope to be better about updating… sorry about making you guys wait too long. Anyways… Please review!!! I need the support!!!**

**Copyright: I don't own any of James Patterson's characters, but I do own Morta, Ian and Jared... I think that's all.**

**Chapter 5**

"Alright, everybody up!" The shout penetrated into my sleeping mind. I lifted her weary head to see Max kicking the huddled forms of sleeping kids all around. She passed over me, I guess not wanting to kick the new kid.

"Jus' 5 mo' minu's…" Nudge's voice followed another shout from Max.

"Nudge, c'mon! We got to go!" Max walked over, delivering a slight prod with her boot to the tired child.

I sat up, the sleepiness in my body dissolving. I quickly flattened my hair, knowing how bad it looked every morning, and un-rumpled my shirt, smoothing it out. "Good morning!" A little face popped into my vision, surprising me a little.

"Um, hi?" I wasn't entirely used to having someone greet me as I woke up.

The blonde girl smiled, looking happy at my response. "Are you coming with us?" She asked.

"I don't know." I answered truthfully. "I guess it depends on what your leader thinks."

At those words, Max looked over at us. She must've been listening to the conversation. She casually strolled over, and I could see every muscle in her body was tense. "I don't know, Angel." She sighed.

"Why?" The little girl asked innocently.

"C'mon. I'll explain later." Max redirected her course away from me, with one hand on Angel's shoulder. I looked around, seeing the blind kid was on the lookout perch, Nudge was just rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and their dog was sniffing around the base of some trees. I shook my head, wondering how I got to be here. I was so used to being nicely alone, not a care in the world, but that vanished, slipping in-between my fingers like a puff of smoke.

I looked down, trying to figure out what I should do for food. I assumed there was a store nearby, and though I could hunt and eat wild animals, I wasn't entirely in the mood. I stood, stretching my wings, and feeling the effect of cold air surrounding them. The blood started to course through them, and they seemed to beg to me that I should go for a fly. I looked around again, wondering if I should tell anyone about my quick flight, and I walked over to where Max was having a hush-hush conversation with Angel. I picked up "Tried… kill… unsafe…" before Max spun around, facing me.

"I'm just going to-" I tried before she cut me off with a wave of her hand.

"You don't make very good first impressions, do you?" There was venom in her question.

"Not really. I'm going for a quick fly. Will you be here when I get back?" I shoved in before she could stop me.

She studied my face for a moment. "Maybe. Depends on how I feel. Just go."

I gave her one last look, and returned the little wave that Angel gave to me, before I spun around and beating my wings hard, took off. The wind was amazing for my stiff wings, and soon I was completely comfortable with soaring through the sky.

I headed where the sound of people was greatest, and was soon high above a small town. I tucked my wings in and felt the wind rushing by me, faster and faster, until I was closer to the ground. I snapped them open, catching the wind and making my wings pull back. I had aimed carefully for the border of the woods near a small grocery store, so I would be concealed by the leafy canopy. I was a pro at landing in forests, so I managed to squeeze between the branches and leaves, without a scratch, and landed softly on the forest floor. I was picking out a twig out of my wing when a shadow moved. I froze, ready for a fight, when out stepped Fang.

"Morning." He grumbled cheerfully.

"Hi." Was all I could manage out. I was too embarrassed to speak much, all because I mistook him for an enemy.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Food." was my only reply. I liked keeping answers short and sweet. It was a habit I developed when I used to be paranoid.

He smirked, and the memories from the previous night rose to the top of my mind. I could feel my cheeks heat as I remembered how vulnerable and childish I had been. I quickly averted my gaze to the forest floor. "I see you've… changed." He whispered.

"I was foolish last night. I let a stranger into my life, let that stranger know everything about me. I'm sorry." I replied.

"Ah. But that no longer makes them a stranger." He parried. I looked up to see a faint smile on his face.

"Maybe… maybe your right." I thought. "Now I'm hungry. If you'll excuse me, please." I turned on the spot, only to be stopped by a strong hand on my shoulder.

I looked up to see him studying my face with his dark eyes. "I don't think of you as a stranger." He said quietly.

"But your friends do." I told him, unwanted sadness in my small voice.

He let go, and I turned back around again. I didn't want to look at him any longer, knowing how he was right about some things. I hated admitting I was wrong, and I really was hungry.

I ran out into the bright sunlight, getting away from the darkness of the woods, and faced the grocery store. I looked at how small it was, and decided I shouldn't steal from this place. I never stole, unless it was necessary, and the business was big. So I just waltzed in, and took out a wad of bills from my pocket. I went to the food aisle, and walked slowly. Suddenly, a cloud filled my vision, blocking out everything except the scene playing in my eyes. A figure, with a black coat, with the hood pulled over his eyes, would appear in this aisle in 2 minutes and 16 seconds.

The grocery store flooded back into my eyes, and I knew that the figure that would soon appear would have some form of importance to me. I prepared by putting down the bag of pretzels back on the aisle, and facing the direction he would come. I remembered when the Lab scientists explained my unique ability. They said that once I had complete control over it, I would be able to turn it on and off at will. But for now, it just showed up when something important or significant was going to happen. It didn't show me very far into the future, but was still handy.

After waiting for a short time, my vision came true. A figure appeared, and froze when he first caught sight of me. But he quickly returned to acting casual, and I knew I had to see who this was for future reference. I walked up, and asked cautiously, "Um, excuse me? Eric? Is that you?"

He shook his head, and my brain did floppies trying to figure out what to make up next. "You can't fool me, Eric. Take off the hood. I know it's you."

He violently shook his head again, and turned back to the food. I gave a 'humph' noise, and turned, crossing my arms. I had to admit, I was a good actress, because the figure soon placed a hand on my shoulder. I spun around. He lifted his hands, removing his hood, and I gasped.

It was a scientist from the Lab. The one who gave me my name, the one with the nice face. "Hello Morta." His voice was more gruff since the 6 years I had seen him last. His black hair and beard was streaked with grey, and his face had gotten paler and wrinklier. "I'm not here to take you, just making sure you're still alive. A friend asked me to check up on you. He misses you dearly. If you come with me, I'll take you to him."

I was frozen on the spot, gaping up at him. I suddenly found my voice again, and spit out, "No. I have somewhere to be."

He was shocked at my dismiss, and made that clear. But I just didn't want to see him. He was a reminder that the Lab was still out looking for me, and he was probably just here to take me back. "Morta, wait!" He called out behind me.

"No. Sorry, but I don't know you." I called back.

"Yes you do."

"No! I don't even know your name!" I shouted, maybe a little too loud.

He looked down, and I continued walking. "My name… is Ian."

"Hah!" I didn't bother turning around. "You think I'll believe you?!"

"Jared did."

My mouth closed. I could also feel my throat closing, too. My heart sped up faster then it already was, and my head was reeling. No… no… it must be another Jared. My Jared would've tried to find me, would've gotten out of that blasted place.

"He wants to see you." Ian said, not easing my racing mind at all.

"Really?" I spat. "Does he work there now? Work with you? Well, you can tell him that I do want to see Jared. The _old_ non-_evil_ Jared. Goodbye, 'Ian'." And I ran out as fast as possible, my hunger overwhelmed by my other emotions threatening to explode my brain.

I kept running, for as far as I could, into the woods, until I didn't know where I was anymore. I didn't mind. My sense of direction was excellent, and if I did get into trouble, I had wings. I kept walking, the darkness helping me think a lot. Then I remembered the "flock" was waiting, if they were still there.

I calmed down a bit, and took off into the air. My eyes stung, but I didn't let one tear fall, even in the air. I soon was able to find the clearing using my smell and sight. I swiftly landed among the trees, and looked around.

Empty. They had left me. I went and sat on a log that faced the dark forest. I closed my eyes, thinking hard. I didn't know what to do now, and I did miss Jared. But I wouldn't believe Ian, because he was from the lab, no matter how nice he was. I was never going back there, not even to see Jared. I had made up my mind.

It was then that I heard the beating of wings. My eyes snapped open to see the littlest one, Angel. She looked at me, probably wondering what I was doing, just sitting here.

She spoke then, voice small but powerful. "Why are you here?"

"I don't know." I answered, honestly.

"You should come with us. I like you." She chirped.

"You guys left. I'm not desperate enough to oversee that message." I stated the obvious.

"We didn't want to leave." She widened her eyes. "We were ambushed. We left by orders from Max. There were a lot of Erasers."

I stood, my brain whirring. "Erasers?" I asked. She nodded, blonde curls bouncing. "Is everyone ok?"

"Yep!" She said, enthusiastically. "C'mon, I'll take you to where we are."

She started to turn around, small white wings illuminated by the sun filtered through the trees. "Wait." I said, and she turned back. "Are you sure Max wants me?"

She bit her lip a little, which made her look cute. "I do. And so does Iggy, and Gazzy, and Fang. Oh, and Total."

"But not Max." I stated.

"She just takes a while to warm up to people. But I know you're a nice person, because I can read your mind and all." She smiled warmly.

I thought quickly, making up my mind. I did enjoy their company, and they weren't very mean or suspicious. So I nodded, outstretching my wings. She smiled widely, before turning around, her white wings catching the light. Her name was obvious, because she really did look like a little angel. If she really was so angelic, I wondered why she liked me so much. I'm not really a great person, and I thought that angels only liked great, giving people. I shrugged off my annoying thoughts and looked around at the empty space once more.

"Are you coming?" Angel said, jerking out of my thoughts.

Without a word, I merely unfurled my dark brown wings to their full size, and beat down the air with them. Angel smiled before copying so that we were soon both in the air. We cleared the canopy of leaves easily, and I looked down at the ground below. I saw little people going in and out of the store that I met up with Ian, and tried to block out the memory of the conversation.

"He reminds me of Jeb." Angel said suddenly. I looked up at her to see her face was thoughtful as she looked back at me. "He was the guy that helped the flock get out of the School. We thought he died when he later disappeared, but we found out he was just back at the School. He left us."

I looked back at the ground far below. "I didn't even know Ian's name until today. And now he's saying that I should trust him, and that my friend is still alive. I don't know whether to believe him."

"Well, he is the one who gave you your name." She smiled, and I realized that she found out all about me and Fang's conversation with her little power. "But I think you should stick with us. I think you're cool."

I actually smiled back as my short brown hair fell in front of my face. "Thanks. You're cool too."

She smiled even wider and twirled in the air. She then watched me fly. It was then I noticed that we flew differently. I flew to conserve energy but also to go faster, while she… I didn't even know how to describe her methods. It was certainly different. "You have to teach the flock how you fly like that!" She said enthusiastically.

"Like what?" I asked.

"You fly like you're a bird. As if you have been for all your life!"

"I have been. Weren't you born with your wings too?" I asked.

"Yes, but back at the school we couldn't fly a lot." She twirled again. "So you have to teach us how you fly without beating your wings so much, but you still go really fast!"

I looked at my wings, which looked black on the underside because of the shadows. "Alright. I guess I will. Later."

She smiled at my promise, and I knew what that meant. It meant that I would have to stick around with their group for a while longer. But to my surprise, I was happy about it.


End file.
